13 APRIL Every year, April 11 is observed as World Parkinson’s Day to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease, which is a progressive nervous system disorder. The day marks the birthday of Dr James Parkinson from London

MASK ABHIYAN Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on launched 14-day 'mask abhiyan' as part of efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus in view of rising cases and urged people to strictly follow the safety guidelines.

ADVANCEMENT Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal chaired a high-level meeting on the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 and released an implementation plan for school education called 'Students' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement through Quality Education (SARTHAQ)'. SARTHAQ has been developed by the Department of School Education and Literacy.

Film Maker Acclaimed filmmaker Guneet Monga to be conferred with honour of the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans I'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres). It is the second highest civilian French honour and has earlier been awarded to big Hollywood names like Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Bruce Willis. She has helmed critically acclaimed projects including The Lunchbox etc.

Airtel Payments Bank Airtel Payments Bank launched its new 'Rewards123' savings account, which provides customers with perks and rewards. The Rewards123 Savings Account is built specifically that allows you to get access to a variety of perks when you save and transact digitally.

IISc-Bangalore The Indian Institute of Science (IISc Bangalore) has secured the top position among the best higher education institutes in India, while Calcutta University became the best varsity in the country, as per the published Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU 2020).

Actor Veteran actor Satish Kaul, who had 300 Punjabi and Hindi films to his credit and played the role of Lord Indra in the TV show Mahabharat, passed away

Sonu Sood Bollywood actor Sonu Sood has been made the brand ambassador for Punjab's anti-coronavirus vaccination programme. During the coronavirus-induced lockdown last year, the actor had helped migrants reach their home states.

UAE The United Arab Emirates named the next two astronauts in its space programme on 10th April, including the country’s first female astronaut.

Netherlands During the India- Netherlands virtual Summit, the two countries agreed on instituting a ‘Strategic Partnership on Water’ to further deepen the Indo-Dutch cooperation in the water related sector, and upgrading the Joint Working Group on water to Ministerial-level.